Golf is a game which requires a precise body alignment and a precise swing in order to obtain any degree of success. Even slight improper motion can greatly hinder a player's performance. Repetitive practice is therefore essential in developing one's golf game.
Golf driving ranges have been set up to allow golfers to develop and maintain the skills required for the game. Most golf practice ranges include a level area for teeing off. Some practice ranges include practice mats which simulate artificial turfs. In most instances, the teeing off area in the practice range is flat.
Ideally, the golfer should practice his swing under conditions which approximate those encountered on the course where varying playing conditions may be encountered. For example, the golf ball may come to rest on an upward slope, or a downward slope, or a side slope. Further, the contour of the golf course is quite irregular and may require that the golfer stand at an angle which differs from the angle on which the ball lies.
While conventional driving ranges are quite popular, they do not simulate the actual conditions that the player may encounter on the golf course. Most driving ranges provide no area in which a golfer may practice his or her swing on an uneven slope. Further, practice mats which are used at most practice ranges do not have the same "feel" as natural turf.
In the past, it is known to mount a golf practice mat on a platform which can be titled at an angle relative to the ground. Examples of tilting platforms are shown in the patents to Ahn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,741; Seilburg, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,133; Hughes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,332; and Bay et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,420. Such devices have numerous drawbacks. First, many tilting platforms require complicated mechanical devices for raising and lowering the platform. Furthermore, the surface of the platform, though tilted, is planar and does not accurately simulate the contour of natural turf.
Accordingly, there is a need for a golf practice device which simulates the sloping conditions which may be encountered on an actual course, and also simulates the feel of natural turf.